Dave Rempis

Forbes Graham | Dave Rempis | Pandelis Karayorgis | Luther Gray | Construction Party | Instruments of Change | Not Two Records

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This collaborative quartet was formed in the winter of 2008, when Rempis took advantage of one of his regular trips home to visit family in Boston to start a musical relationship with some of his favorite musicians in that city. Having known Pandelis Karayorgis for almost a decade through fellow musicians Nate McBride and Ken Vandermark, the two decided to round out a quartet with the wide-ranging capabilities of Forbes Graham on trumpet, and the old-school driving swing of Luther Gray on drums. Since that time, the group has normally played once or twice a year in Boston, working on a set of compositions brought in by all its members. The band recorded in December of 2009, a recording which is came out on the Polish label Not Two Records in 2012 as “Instruments of Change.” — Stu Vandermark, Boston Jazz Scene Dec 2010 Continue reading →

The Resonance Ensemble | Kafka In Flight | Not Two Records

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Magnus Broo – trumpet (Stockholm) | Michael Zerang – drums (Chicago) | Ken Vandermark – tenor saxophone, Bb clarinet (Chicago) | Mikolaj Trzaska – alto saxophone, bass clarinet (Gdansk) | Mark Tokar – bass (Kiev) | Steve Swell – trombone (New York) | Dave Rempis – alto & tenor saxophones (Chicago) | Per-Âke Holmlander – tuba (Stockholm) | Tim Daisy> – drums (Chicago) | Waclaw Zimpel – Bb & bass clarinet, taragato (Warsaw). All compositions by Ken Vandermark (Twenty First Mobile Music / ASCAP). Recorded in concert at the Philharmonic Hall, Gdansk, Poland, by Piotr Traszkiewicz on October 31, 2009. Mixed by Bob Weston and Ken Vandermark at Chicago Mastering Service. Cover design by Marek Wajda. Thanks to the musicians, Marek Winiarski, Marek Wajda, Ola Trzaska (who made the concert in Gdanks possible), the presenters who took a chance on the band (except for the organizer in Szekesfehervar, who never paid us), and of course – the listeners. Continue reading →

Vandermark 5 | Annular Gift | Not Two Records

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The Vandermark 5’s Annular Gift is its most accessible and swinging recording to date. Recorded live (one reason) in Krakow, Poland, the quintet has come together (reason two) as a true aggregate of players. This is their fifteenth official release (there have been some CD-Rs and compilation discs) and third for the Polish label Not Two. The others were the sprawling and ultimately satisfying 12-CD collection of live dates at Alchemia in 2004 (since Alchemia, cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm replaced trombonist Jeb Bishop in V5) and a double-LP, Four Sides Of The Story (2006). Continue reading →

The Rempis Percussion Quintet | The Disappointment of Parsley | Not Two Records

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The first piece is somewhat of a swinger. For those of you who don’t like their free improvisation too jazzy, head for the bar. (And for those jazz writers who can’t seem to tell one instrument from another, despite the fact that you review dozens of records in public forums each year, I play tenor here, and alto on the other two tracks. They sound different. Dexter Gordon played tenor. Lee Konitz plays alto. Figure it out.) The second piece is a ballad of sorts, dedicated to my grandmother, Stamata Rempis, who passed away at the age of 102 three weeks before this recording was made. She was one of the strongest and kindest people I’ve ever known. As we stood onstage at the end of the first set, before starting this piece, thoughts of her flooded over me. I had been at Alchemia a few weeks earlier, on tour with Ingebrigt Hºaker Flaten’s Quintet, just after learning that she was about to pass. Zoni is the name of the small village in which she was born, just outside of Megalopóli, Greece. — Dave Rempis Continue reading →

Ken Vandermark | Resonance | Not Two Records

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At the end of the week, music fans from all over the region flocked to the concerts in Lviv and Krakow that the musicians had been rehearsing for over the preceding five days, one group even chartering a jet from Georgia. At the end of the week, when it was time to say goodbye, the bonds formed between some of the musicians were so strong that some couldn’t contain their tears. But for many of these artists it was adieu rather than farewell as many intend to build on their Resonance experience by collaborating with each again in the future. — Philip Palmer, Jazzwise magazine) Continue reading →

Vandermark 5 | Four Sides To The Story | Not Two Records

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NotTwo Records extremely limited, outstandingly lavish 2- LP’s box-set, further pushes limits not only musical boundaries of improvised music but also the whole concept of conceptual package, as recently re-defined by its own issue of “Alchemia” by Vandermark 5. This exquisitely realized set includes 2 separate LP, housed together in a one-of-its-kind unique box with absolutely astonishing covert art. Comprehensive booklet with many personal insights from Ken Vandermark himself, rare pictures, interviews and essays from acclaimed critics, compliment the whole set. Continue reading →